Background

The arrival of large numbers of Russian designed Sukhoi
fighters in the Asia-Pacific has attracted the attention of analysts
and media alike. Less visible but no less important is the recent
proliferation across the region of Russian and indigenous Precision
Guided Munitions (PGM). In many respects the Sukhois are both a
delivery vehicle and marketing vehicle for Russian cruise missiles,
standoff missiles and guided bombs. With Russian and indigenous PGMs
now finding their way on to all manner of regional delivery platforms,
the Asia-Pacific is likely over the next decade to end up with a larger
aggregate warstock of modern PGMs than that held by the EU NATO
nations.

What is no less important is that many Russian PGM sales
involve technology transfer via licence assembly or mass production,
which given historical precedents could see many of these munitions in
regional production runs lasting decades. Once established in
production regional manufacturers will follow the well established
pattern of tweaking the designs, spawning in turn a wide range of
derivative weapons with various design improvements. China's evolution
of the Russian P-15/P-21 Styx/Silkworm and 9K32/HN-5 Grail present
excellent case studies. Electronic and optical countermeasures to these
evolved and evolving weapons will present a problem in its own right.

The emergence of large warstocks of modern PGMs in this region
will fundamentally change the strategic balance across the region as
the decisive advantage held by US aligned regional nations with
existing PGM warstocks will be narrowed if not eliminated in time.
Major regional players like India and the PRC observed the Desert
Storm, Desert Fox, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom
campaigns very carefully and the lesson they carried away is much the
same as articulated by our AVM Peter Criss during the 1990s - PGMs win
wars. Lesser regional players in turn emulate these major players. Asia
today sees military power primarily in terms of modern air and missile
power, and budgets permitting we are seeing a pattern of investment
directly copied from that followed by the US - air forces get what they
want ahead of naval surface fleets and land armies.

The commodification of modern computing and imaging
technologies will see increasing use in Russian and indigenous designs
of third generation microprocessor, signal processor and imaging chips.
With technology controls now largely non-viable, as Asian nations
become subcontract manufacturers for Western consumer technology
giants, we can expect to see increasing use of chips such as the
Pentium and TMS320 in weapon seekers. Similarly the unrestricted
availability of good open source software development tools will see
regional PGMs rival the capabilities of US, EU and Israeli products
over the next decade - nobody has a monopoly on brains in this game.
Basic guidance/navigation technologies like Kalman filters, digital
scene matching area correlators (DSMAC) and terrain contour matching
(TERCOM) have been mastered by the Russians and more recently the PRC,
with India easily having equal engineering talent for this.

A 1950s, 1960s, 1970s or 1980s technology Russian cruise
missile, if retrofitted with a modern
inertial / satellite / TERCOM / DSMAC / Kalman filter guidance package,
will
match the lethality of an existing BGM-109 Tomahawk, AGM-86C CALCM,
Storm Shadow/Apache or AGM-158 JASSM - even if it lacks the
flexibility, survivability or standoff range of newer Western
equivalents. A fleet of 1950s designed Bear or Badger bombers armed
with inertial / satellite / TERCOM / DSMAC guided cruise missiles
yields a
similar regional strategic effect to a 1950s designed B-52H carrying
ALCMs or JASSMs. Stating that 'our cruise missiles are better than
theirs' misses the essential point - you will be just as dead if hit by
any of these weapons.

While targeting ISR capabilities will remain a near term issue
for Asia's modernising air forces, the established trend to emulate US
investment patterns is apt to see the deployment over the next two
decades of ISR platforms with long range optical and radar imaging
capabilities. What the US did during the 1970s and 1980s is being
emulated very closely in Asia.

Asia's force structure investment patterns will have a major
strategic impact on US aligned Asian nations, the US and Australia, all
of whom will be presented with a region which in technology and numbers
compares closely to the bloc of EU NATO nations. An environment rich in
long range third generation fighters, often supported by tankers, with
land, sea and air launched cruise missiles, standoff missiles and smart
bombs is an environment unforgiving to air forces without the ability
to rapidly achieve air dominance and maintain it. This puts a premium
on air superiority fighters with good counter-air and cruise missile
defence capabilities, as it does on AEW&C and tanker capabilities.
Numbers will matter as even a small number of smart bomb equipped
Sukhois or cruise missile equipped bombers can cause enormous mayhem if
they can bypass defences.

The idea that 'economy force structure solutions' will be
viable in the Asia-Pacific is a fantasy which is rapidly evaporating,
with every additional buy of modern PGMs in the region.

To appreciate the magnitude of this fundamental strategic
change it is illustrative to explore the characteristics of weapons now
deployed, deploying or being marketed within the region.

This analysis is an expanded and updated derivative of the
2004 analysis.

Technical Analyses

A more detailed discussion of the all
the weapons in this analysis can
be found under the following analyses. These also include a range of
weapons which have yet to be deployed in the region, but are being
actively marketed.

Precision Guided Munitions

NPO
Mashinostroyenia 3K-55/3M-55/Kh-61
Yakhont/PJ-10
Brahmos
A/S

The shining star in the current export lineup of Russian
weapons is the Yakhont, recently licenced by India as the Brahmos A and
Brahmos S. China is reported to have purchased the baseline 3M-55 for a
number of naval vessels.

The OKB-52 3K-55/3M-55 Yakhont (SS-N-26) is like the Moskit a
complete family of supersonic rocket-ramjet missiles. Ship, submarine,
air and ground launched variants exist. The missile weighs 3 tonnes at
launch, and uses a liquid propellant for the ramjet which propels it at
speeds between Mach 2.0 and 2.5. The Yakhont typically cruises to the
target area at high altitude, and then descends for a sea skimming
attack from under the horizon. The distance at which it begins its
descent can be programmed before launch, this determining the
achievable range which is between 65 and 160 nautical miles( Refer
Tsarev V., Melnikov V., 'Yakhont - New Generation Antiship Missile',
Military Parade, Exclusives, 2000.).

Indian promotional materials indicate guidance improvements to
the Brahmos over the original design, and the intent to deploy
shipboard, mobile coastal defence and air delivered variants. There has
also been speculation about a land attack or dual role variant,
requiring a more accurate midcourse navigation system.

At 6,000+ lb launch weight, the Yakhont/Brahmos would be
carried by Su-27/30 on a centreline adaptor.

Raduga
3M80,
3M81,
3M82
and
Kh-41/ASM-MSS Moskit

The Raduga 3M-80, 3M-82 and Kh-41 Moskit (SS-N-22 Sunburn) are
all variants of the same 4.5 tonne supersonic rocket-ramjet missile.
This weapon is the primary armament of the PLA-N's new 956E Sovremennyy
class destroyers and is credited with a range between 50 and 120
nautical miles. An air launch centreline tunnel adaptor enables
Su-27/30 family strike fighters to carry a single round and this
configuration has been displayed on the navalised Su-33. A coastal
defence variant labelled the Moskit E is in development, with a two
round TEL based on the MZKT-7930 chassis.

Inertial
midcourse guidance is supplemented with an Altair active radar seeker -
there are no reports to date of land attack derivatives.

Unlike subsonic Western anti-ship missiles such as the Harpoon
and Exocet, the Moskit is a supersonic sea-skimmer. It can be
programmed to fly a high altitude trajectory at Mach 3, or a
sea-skimming trajectory at Mach 2.2. If the sea skimming mode is
chosen, the missile will be first detected by a warship under attack
when it emerges over the horizon at a distance of about 15 to 25
nautical miles. This provides the defences on the ship with about 25-60
seconds of warning time before impact. The raw speed of the Moskit
makes it a challenging target for most shipboard defences.

Novator 3M54/3M14
Club

3M54E1
Sizzler
subsonic
ASCM
(Novator)

3M54E Sizzler supersonic
ASCM. The supersonic kill
stage is carried to the target area by a subsonic cruise airframe
(Novator)

The Novator 3M-54 Club (SS-N-27 Sizzler) comprises a complete
family of ship (Club N), submarine (Club S) and air launched weapons.
Unlike warship launched Moskit and Yakont variants, the Club is
designed for launch from a 533 mm torpedo tube, or a vertical launch
tube( Refer Military Parade, 2000-1 Exclusives Issue, Kamnev P., 'The
Club Missile System').

Five distinct variants of this weapon exist. The basic 3M-54E1
and 3M-14E most closely resemble the US Navy's anti-ship and land
attack Tomahawk missile. This weapon has a range of 160 nautical miles
and is subsonic. The 3M-54E1 uses an ARGS-54 active radar seeker and
Glonass satellite and inertial guidance, the 3M-14E Glonass satellite
and inertial guidance alone. The more advanced 3M-54E combines the
subsonic cruise airframe of the 3M-54E1/3M-14E with a Mach 2.9 rocket
propelled guided payload.

Like its subsonic sibling, it approaches from under the radar
horizon using the same radar seeker to detect its target. Once locked
on, it discards the cruise airframe, fires its rocket motor, and
accelerates to Mach 2.9 at a sea skimming altitude of 15 feet. Novator
claim the missile follows a zig-zag flightpath to defeat defences. Both
the 3M-54E1 and 3M-54E are small weapons which are difficult to detect
on radar, especially should even basic radar signature reduction
techniques be applied to them. The 91RE1 and 91RE2 are rocket boosted
homing torpedoes, most closely resembling the US ASROC and Sea Lance
weapons. All five weapons in this family share a common launch system
and thus any ship, submarine or aircraft equipped for these weapons can
carry an arbitrary mix.

Press reports indicate that India has fielded this weapon, and
there are claims China also ordered in a 'tit-for-tat' deal for planned
Kilo SSKs. The air launched variant has been marketed on the Su-32FN/34
but there are no reports as yet of hard sales.

Raduga
Kh-22M Burya

Kh-22
Kitchen on the centreline semi-conformal station of a Backfire [More images ...] (US DoD).

The mighty Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen) was the weapon which
stimulated the development of the SPY-1 Aegis system. Designed during
the 1960s for dual role use as a nuclear armed standoff weapon
equivalent to the RAF's Blue Steel, and as an anti-shipping missile
with either radar or anti-radiation seekers, the Kh-22 remains in
service as the primary armament of the RuAF's residual fleet of Tu-22M3
Backfires. While the Tu-95K-22 Bear G was equipped to carry up to three
Kh-22s, its progressive retirement has limited use to the Backfire.

Seven variants have been reported to date, and a mid life
upgrade for the APK-22 guidance package has also been recently
reported. Nuclear armed variants included a TERCOM system to supplement
the inertial unit. If China proceeds with the much speculated upon
Backfire purchase,
the Kh-22
is likely to be supplied as the basic weapon for the aircraft. The
Backfire
carries up to three rounds, although typical payloads are one or two,
on BD-45K/F adaptors.

HY-1/HY-2/HY-4 Silkworm/Seersucker
and C-601/C-611 Kraken

CAS-1
Kraken on a H-6D Badger (PLA-N)

When the Raduga bureau designed
the P-15/4K-40 Termit (SS-N-2
Styx) anti-ship missile during the late 1950s, little could they have
imagined that it would remain in production a half century later. The
original Styx was powered by an Isayev P-15 liquid rocket rated at
1.213-0.554 tonnes thrust, using toxic AK-20K/TG-02 propellant, armed
with an 1,100 lb (513 kg) shaped charge warhead and fitted with a
con-scan active radar seeker. The weapon's first kill was the Israeli
warship Eilat in 1967.

Cloned Chinese Styxes entered production in 1974 as the
HY-1/SY-1 or CSS-N-1 Silkworm coastal defence and shipborne ASM. The
Chinese soon improved the design, the stretched 6,600 lb (3,000 kg)
HY-2 (C-201) or CSS-N-2 Seersucker carrying more propellant and
achieving a range of up to 73 NMI (135 km). Many derivative followed,
including models with infrared homing seekers, television seekers,
monopulse radar seekers and the turbojet powered HY-4. The air launched
YJ-6/C-601 or CAS-1 Kraken entered production during the mid 1980s,
based on the HY-2 variant, and is carried by naval H-6D Badgers. It was
superceded in production by the YJ-61/C-611 with improved 110 NMI (200
km) range via higher energy propellant. Iran acquired several hundred
HY-2s and used the missile extensively during the 'tanker war'. It is
now claimed that Iran is manufacturing its own clones of the HY-2 and
HY-4.

While the Silkworm/Seersucker is a subsonic sea skimmer, it
sheer size adds significant lethality. While it is often not regarded
to be a serious threat to surface warships, it has the killing power to
be a very effective blockade weapon against civilian shipping and naval
transports, or amphibious vessels. Iraq used the HY-2 as a land attack
cruise missile prior to
the fall of Saddam, five were launched and most were neither detected
nor engaged by Patriot batteries due to their low level cruise profile
over flat terrain. Papers by US analyst Dennis Gormley repeatedly note
the ease with which the land mobile turbojet powered HY-4 could be
stretched to provide a 380 NMI (700 km) class cruise missile, equipped
with GPS/IMU accurate enough to present a genuine risk to coalition
ground forces. With thousands of cloned Styx derivatives worldwide,
this early Cold War relic may remain a viable weapon in coming decades.

4K51 Rubezh Coastal Defence System

CHETA
KD-63

The recently revealed KD-63 is a
derivative of the air-breathing HY-4 Sadsack. While it retains the
delta wing and fuselage shape of the HY-4, it uses a new cruciform tail
design, and includes a television / datalink terminal guidance package.
It is thus a dual role weapon, capable of precision strikes against
land and maritime targets. It is carried by the newly designed H-6H
Badger variant, replacing the pair of Krakens carried by earlier
variants. Range is cited at around 100 nautical miles.

Chinese
Land
Attack
Cruise
Missiles

Undesignated
PLA cruise missile, possibly a DH-10 prototype.

China has had a long running program aimed at developing land
attack cruise missiles suitable for aerial, sub and ship deployment.
Reports abound claiming the PRC has actively shopped the Middle East
for debris from expended or failed Tomahawk rounds. More recently
reports have emerged claiming China has purchased tooling for the
Raduga Kh-65SE, the reduced range export variant of the Kh-55 (AS-15
Kent) which is Russia's answer to the Boeing AGM-86B ALCM.

Many sources
claim that the PLA now operates the indigenous HN-1 (320 NMI/600 km),
HN-2 (800+ NMI/1,500+ km) and the HN-3 (1,350 NMI/2,500 km). The sole
good quality image to emerge suggests these weapons are clones of the
BGM-109 Tomahawk, suitable for naval and aerial launch. The DH-10
cruise missile, declared operational, also resembles a Tomahawk.

Given the availability of Russian TERCOM, DSMAC, Glonass,
Western GPS and computer technology, the only issue for the PLA will
lie in good quality 12 inch 600 lb class turbofan availability to power
a genuine AGM-86/BGM-109 class strategic cruise missile. With
submarines, surface warships and H-6H Badgers, there is no shortage of
launch platforms. The recently unveiled H-6H variant with four wing
pylons is clearly intended for such a role.

DH-10
Cruise Missile illustration.

Raduga
Kh-55/55OK/55SM
Cruise
Missile

Raduga
Kh-55SM Kent with conformal fuel tanks.

China is known to have illegally
acquired, in a joint operation with Iran, several examples of the
Kh-55SM Kent cruise missile from storage in the Ukraine, including some
ground equipment. The cost of the investment suggests an interest in
partial or complete reverse engineering of this missile.

The Kh-55 family of cruise
missiles owes its origins to a series of
internal studies at the Raduga OKB during the early 1970s. Raduga were
unsuccessful initially in convincing the Soviet leadership of the value
of their concept, but this changed as public knowledge of the US AGM-86
Air Launched Cruise Missile program became better known in the Soviet
Union.

Russian sources claim that
Raduga's early work on these weapons was
opposed by many Russian experts who were deeply sceptical of the
viability of such a complex new weapon.

The Kh-55 family of weapons most
closely resemble the early US
BGM-109 Tomahawk in concept, using a cylindrical fuselage with pop out
planar wings, unfolding tail control surfaces, and a ventral turbofan
engine, with guidance provided by a TERrain COntour Matching (TERCOM)
aided inertial navigation system.

The most visible difference
between the Tomahawk and Kh-55 families
of missiles is the engine installation. The Tomahawk's Williams
F107-WR100 engine is embedded in the tail and uses a ventral inlet duct
and tailcone exhaust. The Kh-55's Omsk AMKB TVD-50 two spool turbofan
is mounted in a nacelle which is stowed in the aft fuselage and deploys
via a ventral door on a pylon after launch.

The TVD-50 is a critical piece of
technology in the Kh-55 as it is a
compact and fuel efficient turbofan in the thrust and size class
required to power cruise missiles, standoff missiles and UAVs. The
cited thrust rating is 400 to 500 kp (880 to 1,000 lbf), with a dry
mass of 95 kg (210 lb), a Specific Fuel Consumption of 0.65, a length
of 0.85 m (33.5 in) and diameter of 0.33 m (13 in).

The Tomahawk uses a four surface
tail control assembly with anhedral
on the stabilators, whereas the Kh-55 uses only three larger surfaces,
with more pronounced anhedral, a configuration since adopted in the new
Block IV RGM/UGM-109E Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. The largely
symmetrical aft fuselage of the Tomahawk differs from the more
pronounced sculpting of the Kh-55 aft fuselage.

The cylindrical fuselage
configuration is essentially the same for
both designs. The Tomahawk has a 21 in diameter, the Kh-55 a 20.5 in
diameter, the Tomahawk weighed 2,700 lb at launch, the Kh-55 2,870 lb.
The later blocks of the Tomahawk have a chinned 'Beluga' nose to reduce
radar signature, the Kh-55 retains an ogival/spherical nose.

The baseline guidance package on
both missiles is designed around a
digital computer running Kalman filter and TERCOM software, with an
onboard memory storing a digital map, coupled to a radar altimeter for
terrain profiling and a low drift inertial unit. Tomahawks later
acquired an optical Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator and GPS -
the Soviet had DSMAC technology but it has never been disclosed whether
this was added to the Kh-55 series. The cited designation for the Kh-55
guidance package is the Sprut and BSU-55.

Like the Tomahawk, the Kh-55
spawned a range of derivatives, unlike
the Tomahawk the Kh-55 became the dominant air launched weapon. The
first generation of Kh-55s appeared in three configurations, entering
service in 1984. The 'Izdeliye 120' Kh-55 / AS-15A was air launched
from the Tu-95MS using a MKU-6-5 rotary launcher and external pylons,
the RKV-500A / SS-N-21 Sampson was tube launched from the Type 671
Victor, Type 945 Sierra and Type 971 Akula submarines, and the RK-55 /
SSC-X-4 Slingshot tube launched from a MAZ-543M (MAZ-7910) 8x8 TEL,
carrying six rounds.

The air launched Kh-55 was
followed by the improved 'Izdeliye 124'
Kh-55OK, which was supplanted in production by the most capable
'Izdeliye 125' Kh-55SM / AS-15B subtype in 1987.

The aim of the Kh-55SM design was
to further extend the striking
range of the basic missile, cited at 1,350 NMI (2,500 km). This was
achieved by adding a pair of conformal fuselage fuel tanks, which
increased launch weight to 3,750 lb (1,700 kg), but increased cruise
range to 1,620 NMI (3,000 km) with a 200 kT warhead fitted. The naval
variant of the Kh-55SM was designated the RKV-500B.

A conventional derivative of the
Kh-55, designated the Kh-555, was
recently announced. A lightweight shorter ranging derivative weapon,
the Kh-65, has been actively marketed since the 1990s.

For all intents and purposes, the
late model Kh-55SM is a heavier
and longer ranging equivalent to the BGM-109B Tomahawk, with
performance closest to the AGM-86B ALCM.

CASIC
YJ-62/C-602 Anti Ship / Land Attack Cruise Missile

Launch
of a 'Tomahawk-like' PLA-N YJ-62/C-602
cruise
missile .

The YJ-62 cruise missile is a
PLAN analogue to the anti-shipping variants of the RGM-109
Tomahawk/MRASM. The weapon has a similar general configuration to the
Tomahawk family, but employs a unique fixed scoop inlet for the air
breathing engine.

Claims for this weapon include an
active radar homing seeker with a monopulse antenna,
GPS/Glonass/inertial midcourse guidance, alternate turbojet and
turbofan engines, and ship, sub, coastal battery and air launch
configurations.

Cited specifications
include a length of 6.1/7.0 metres, launch mass of
1,140/1,350 kg, warhead mass of 300 kg, cruise speed of 0.9
Mach, range for turbojet variant of 280 km / 150 NMI,
and dual mode anti-ship and coastal target capability similar to later
blocks of the Harpoon.

The YJ-62 is claimed to have been
deployed on the Type 052C Luyang II destroyer.

China's indigenous response to the Exocet and Harpoon lies in
the YJ-8 (CSS-N-4 Sardine) family of missiles, available in ship, sub,
land and air launch variants. The basic air launch rocket powered YJ-8K
achieves 27 NMI (50 km) range, the improved YJ-81 cca 43 NMI (80 km),
the turbojet YJ-82 (CSS-N-8 Saccade) cca 65 NMI (120 km), and the
recently trialed YJ-83 variant around 135 NMI (250 km). These are the
primary weapon of many PLA-N warships, and the FH-7 maritime fighter
carrying four rounds.

Molniya
Kh-29 / 9M721

Kh-29TE (left) and
APK-9E datalink pod (centre).

The
Molniya
Kh-29
/
AS-14 Kedge is a Russian supersonic equivalent
to the French AS.30
and US AGM-65 Maverick, and is primarily intended for interdiction and
close air support, and maritime strike roles. An APU-58 or AKU-58
launcher is used, on the Su-27/30 Flanker (up to 6 rounds), the MiG-27
Flogger (2 rounds), Su-17/22 Fitter (2 rounds) and Su-24M Fencer (3
round). Multiple variants exist.

The Kh-28L (Izdeliye 63 or AS-14A) is a semi-active laser
homing variant used in the manner of the AS.30L, with a 24N1
seeker.
The Kh-29T (Izdeliye 64 or AS-14B) is an electro-optical variant with a
TV datalink and command uplink, using the APK-9 Tekon pod. The Kh-29TE
is an enhanced variant. The Kh-29D is another EO variant, equipped with
a thermal imaging seeker.

Launch
weight
for
most
variants is around 1,500 lb, with a 700 lb warhead
being used most often. Range is usually cited at 16 nautical miles for
a high altitude launch.

Kh-29L (foreground)
and Kh-29TE
(background).

Zvezda
Kh-31P/A/MR/MA
'Mini-Moskit'

The
Mach 4.5
ramjet Kh-31P/MP/A/MA Krypton family of missiles includes
anti-radiation, anti-shipping and anti-AWACS variants. Reports claim
the PRC intends to licence build this weapon, depicted an Su-30KN
prototype (KNAAPO).

Dubbed the 'Mini-Moskit', the supersonic Turayev ramjet
powered Kh-31P (AS-17 Krypton) was originally designed as an
anti-radiation missile to suppress NATO Patriot and IHawk batteries,
entering use in 1988, with an L-111E family interferometric seeker.
Since the end of the Cold
War it has evolved an extended range airframe (Kh-31MP / Type 2 - 100+
NMI range). An anti-ship variant equipped with an active radar seeker,
the Kh-31A/MA, was recently introduced, adaptation of this seeker
permitting counter-ISR roles as an AWACS-Killer. At altitude the
Kh-31 achieves Mach 4.5, as sea level Mach 2.7. Su-30MK fitted for the
Kh-31 series carry up to six rounds on wing stations 3, 4, 11, 12 and
inlet stations 9 and 10, using AKU-58 adaptors, the Su-27SKU four
rounds on 3, 4, 9 and 10.

It has no equivalent in the Western inventory, the US Navy
using it as the MA-31 target drone. The PLA is reported to use this
weapon with recent claims of plans for licence production.

Raduga
Kh-59/59M/D
Ovod

The Kh-59M/D is a direct
equivalent to the AGM-142 and the
PLA-AF Su-30MKK can carry two rounds. Daylight TV and IIR versions
exist (Rosoboronexport).

The 2,000 lb (920 kg) 62 NMI (115 km) range Kh-59M/D (AS-18
Kazoo) series stand-off weapon is a direct equivalent to the AGM-142
missile now being integrated on the RAAF's F-111C. Evolved from an
anti-radiation missile, it shares the common Granit 7TM1 optical seeker
and Raduga APK-9 Tekon DL pod with the KAB series, the D-model fitted
with a
thermal imager, and uses an RDK-300 jet sustainer. The PLA-N is
reported to have ordered an anti-ship variant equipped with a radar
seeker, designated the Kh-59MK2, for the Su-30MK2.

Su-27SK/30MK fitted for the Kh-59M/MK2 carry two rounds on
wing stations 3 and 4, using AKU-58 adaptors, the pod carried on inlet
station 9.

Kh-59MK2
prototype
for
the
PLA-N Su-30MK2, carried on an Su-24 Fencer.

Zvezda
3M-24/Kh-35U
Uran

Dubbed the Kharpunski the Kh-35U Uran (AS-20 Kayak/SS-N-25
Switchblade) is the Russian equivalent to the US RGM-84/AGM-84 Harpoon.
The missile is available in surface launched and air launched versions
(AKU-58 adaptor) and was publicly canvassed as an option for India's
Tu-142 Bear upgrade - it is already deployed on the New Delhi class
DDG, reports indicate China ordered in 2001. An ARGS-35 active radar
seeker is used, and there are claims of a 'SLAM-like' land attack
variant although no images are as yet available.

Bal
E Coastal Defence System

The Bal E is the replacement for the Rubezh coastal defence
system. This design departs from the arrangement of the Rubezh,
the new weapon system is designed around an 8 round TEL armed with the
3M-24 Uran ASCM and a separate command/control and targeting vehicle.
Like the Rubezh, the Bal E employs a command and control vehicle
equipped with an acquisition and targeting radar, and a telescoping
datalink mast to network the TELs. While demonstrators were built on
the MAZ-7910 chassis, production vehicles use the MZKT-7930 chassis.
The stated CONOPS for the Bal E is for batteries to produce saturation
missile attacks against hostile amphibious forces.

GNPP
KAB-1500/KAB-500/KAB-250
Precision
Guided
Bombs

KAB-1500Kr
Electro-Optically
Guided
Bomb
training round.

Russia's family of KAB-1500 and KAB-500 smart bombs are an
equivalent to the US Paveway II/III and GBU-15 family of guided bombs.
Sharing common design modules with unique seeker designs, and a range
of standard warhead types, this family of weapons encompasses all of
the baseline capabilities in their US equivalents.

The KAB (Korrektiruyeskaya Aviatsionnaya Bomba) family of
weapons were developed during the 1970s by Moscow based GNPP, and it is
likely that warstocks of the Paveway, Walleye and HOBOS captured in
South Vietnam during 1975 played an important role in the design
process. The basic configuration of the 500 kg weapons is common to the
GBU-8 HOBOS TV guided bomb family using tail controls and fixed
canards, less the GBU-8's lift enhancing strakes. The 1,500 kg weapon
is closer to a hybrid of the Paveway II and HOBOS configuration, with
steerable canards and spring deployed cruciform tail.

Two common seekers are currently available across the product
range. The first seeker is the '27N' semi-active laser homing seeker
using a ring airfoil and optical path similar to the Paveway II series
(KAB-500L, KAB-1500L). It will provide similar characteristics to the
baseline Paveway II seeker. The cited 4 metre Circular Error Probable
is however consistent with a proportional control algorithm rather than
the bang-bang design in the Paveway II. A laser designator such as the
Klyon PM/PS, Kaira 24M, I-25 Shkval, or a targeting pod such as the
Sapsan-E would be used, or a Western pod with the laser exciter
configured with Russian seeker coding.

The second 7TM1 seeker bears a striking resemblance to the
GBU-8/15 configuration, with a gimballed TV camera under a
hemispherical dome, and is largely common to the Kh-29TE and Kh-59M
standoff missiles. The seeker field of regard would be in excess of 45
degrees off boresight, permitting some flexibility in bomb release.

The daylight TV seeker is available with two different
guidance packages. The first, designated Televizionno-Komandnaya is a
man in the loop command link arrangement similar in concept to the
GBU-15 (KAB-1500TK). A Raduga APK-8 or APK-9 datalink pod common to the
Kh-59 is used to send steering commands to the bomb, and receive video
from the seeker during flight for display in the cockpit. This seeker
will achieve similar effect to the GBU-15 and will be extremely
accurate.

The second guidance package designated 'Korrelatsionaya'
employs a Scene Matching Area Correlator package (KAB-500Kr,
KAB-1500Kr), which guides the bomb to a set of coordinates within a
preprogrammed image surrounding the target - it is similar technology
to the DSMAC in the BGM-109 Tomahawk. EU sources claim this guidance
package can hit completely hidden targets providing their location is
well known relative to visually prominent features surrounding the
aimpoint. It is likely the bomb needs to be programmed on the ground,
although this is apt to change now with the added computing power in
recent Su-30 variants. Multiple rounds can be released in a single pass
at multiple aimpoints, not unlike the JDAM.

While EU sources speculate on the existence of a thermal
imaging variant, its existence cannot be confirmed as no photographs
are available showing the Zinc Sulphide or Fluoride glass nose windows
required. As Russia's industry is now experimenting with QWIP Focal
Plane Array imaging chips, a day/night thermal imaging variant is a
likely future prospect. The design changes would be in a revised gimbal
with a cooling assembly and an IR transmissive window.

The most recent variants are the KAB-500S-E and
KAB-1500S-E, equipped with a satellite/inertial guidance system
analogous to the US JDAM weapons. Their production status is currently
unclear, but trial drops are known to have been performed.

The 3,000 lb (1,500 kg) class KAB-1500 bombs are the
heavyweights, with blast, blast fragmentation and subcalibre bunker
busting warhead options, the latter claimed to be capable of
penetrating up to 20 metres of soil and 2 metres of reinforced
concrete. The 1,000 lb (500 kg) class KAB-500 bombs are GBU-16/32/35
equivalents, with blast, submunition dispensing, blast fragmentation
and fuel-air explosive warhead options. The Su-27/30 is cleared to lift
up to 6 KAB-500s or 3 KAB-1500s on wing stations 3 and 4, inlet
stations 9 and 10, and centreline tandem stations 1 and 2. The KAB-500
is carried on a BD-3U adaptor, the KAB-1500 on a BD4 adaptor.